A New Life
by I wish my username was cooler
Summary: Liz is a girl who's lived in a small town her entire life. Until her family moves to New York to manage her one of her father's apartments. When mysterious things start happening in her life will she accept the changes or turn on these strange... people? I'm terrible at summaries, please forgive me if it makes no sense.
1. Moving

**Hello there reader, welcome to my little story. First off, let me just say that I only own my OCs and the plotline, nothing else. This covers the entire story, so remember this.**

**Secondly, lets establish a few things about my main OC. Her name is Elisabeth, Liz for short. She's fifteen, lives in a well off family, and is, hopefully, less repetitive and boring than my last attempt at an OC. I've tried to make her an _original_ character, instead of the regular perfect little Mary Sue, so if anyone has any problems with her, please, let me know.**

**These first few chapters will focus on building my character. I don't expect to bring the turtles in until a few chapters later, although I don't want to bore anyone.**

**I'm working on improving my writing, so any constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.**

**Well, enough with this chit-chat. On with the story!**

* * *

I collapsed on my bed. It had been a long day, and I was exhausted. I plugged my headphones into my iPod and blasted my music, letting my mind slip off into a daydream. It was one where I lived in a big city, one I had often. The city was a foreign and exciting place to me, much unlike the small town my family currently lived in.

My mom knocked on my door and told me to go to sleep. I sighed and turned off the music, then snuggled under the covers. It took me a while to find a comfortable position, but eventually I slipped off into dream land.

I dreamed I was in New York. Tall building shot up from the ground, touching the clouds. People milled about, chatting on cell phones, or to each other. I found myself in the air above everyone, looking down at the now tiny people. I flew around the city, squealing in delight. It was a wonderful dream, and I woke with a smile on my face the next morning.

* * *

I sighed in frustration and let my head fall onto the book in front of me. I hated math. I hated it with a passion. I lifted my head and finished the last few problems in the lesson. I closed my notebook and stacked it on top of the math book, putting both on their shelf. I stretched my arms above my head and yawned. I glanced at the clock. Only twelve o'clock and I had already finished my schoolwork.

It was one of the few perks to being homeschooled. If I worked fast enough I could finish before lunch, and then have the rest of the day to sit around and be lazy. I looked out my window. The only thing I could see were trees and fields, with the occasional house.

I left my room in search of lunch. I was starving. The house was quiet. Everyone else must still be doing schoolwork. My five siblings took much longer than I to finish their work. They got distracted too easily. I could hear my mother from somewhere in the house, helping one of my younger siblings, probably Benny. I grabbed an apple from a basket on the counter.

On my way back to my room I glanced into my brother's room. Michael sat at his desk, writing quickly. Mikey was a quiet and serious boy. He worked quickly and was a few grades above most other ten year olds. He didn't talk much, and spent most of his time reading books. Not comic book, or children's books, but big scientific books. He was smarter than most people his age. Heck, he was probably smarter than most people my age. He was like a sponge, soaking in knowledge faster than you could teach it.

I smiled at the young boy and continued my journey, stopping only to wave to my mom when I passed Benny's room.

Benny was the opposite of Mikey. He played video games all day, read comic books, and stuffed his face with junk food. For twins, the two were nothing alike. While Mikey was dark haired and brown eyed, Benny was an American boy, with blond hair and blue eyes. Even when they stood next to each other, it was hard to tell they were related.

Next was Becky. The young girl had light brown hair and blue eyes. She was the youngest, and milked it for everything she was worth. At the young age of five, she had learned how to manipulate people to do her every wish and command.

I passed Alex's room next. Alex was the oldest, after me. He looked like an older version of Benny, with slightly darker hair. He was athletic, to the point where if cooped up too long he would most likely break something by bouncing off the walls. He was also my best friend. Sure I had other friends who I would talk to and hang out with sometimes, but Alex was my _best _friend.

I finally made it to my room. I looked in my mirror. I was probably the most different out of my family. While everyone else had light brown or blonde hair, I had black. Everyone else was pale, but I had dark tanned skin. The only thing I had in common with my family was my bright blue eyes. I took after my father's Hispanic mother.

I spent a lot of my time with my grandma, cooking, cleaning, or just talking. I loved learning about my origins and hearing stories about my ancestors, and my grandma was happy to share. I learned how to make a lot of Hispanic foods. Cooking was one of my hobbies. Someday I planned to be a chef, photographer, or artist.

I plopped down on my bed and munched my apple, thinking about my family and life in general.

* * *

I stepped out of the moving van, stretching my legs. We were almost there. I was so excited!

My dad ran an apartment company with his dad and brother. They had recently bought an apartment in Manhattan, NY, and needed someone to manage it. My dad had decided that my family could use the change of scenery. So here we were, just a few hours away from the legendary city.

I wasn't really all that sad to be leaving my old home. I hadn't had many friends, and the few I did have weren't very close to me. My grandma was probably the one I would miss most. I had always loved seeing new places. New York was just another adventure for me.

I walked over to the minivan, where my mom was helping my youngest sister unbuckle her seatbelt. The small girl, finally free, leapt out of the car and ran into the restroom. I gave my mom a hug. The stress was getting to her. Out of our entire family, she had been the most skeptical one about the move, but eventually she had given into the pleading from my siblings and me.

"Hey Mom, how're you doing?"

She smiled wryly at me. "Well, other than the exhaustion, stress, and traffic, I'd say I'm doing pretty well. How are you holding up in there with your dad?"

"We're good, although we did run out of snacks."

She chuckled, "Go check on your sister, and maybe I'll consider sharing".

I grinned, and headed into the restroom to make sure my little sister hadn't fallen into the toilet, or something.

* * *

We were finally here! The apartment building was huge. I had gotten a crick in my neck from staring up at it. We had the entire ground floor, besides the lobby, which was pretty big.

Our apartment was amazing. It had a large living room with a flat screen TV, a giant couch, and bean bag chairs scattered around. The kitchen was big, with a long counter that separated it from the dining room. I knew my mom would love the large in-wall oven and giant fridge. The dining room had a big table and ten chairs. There were eight bedrooms, and five bathrooms. I couldn't help but think this place was perfect.

I hurried to pick a bedroom, knowing that as soon as my brothers and sisters got here there would be a fight. My dad and I had beaten them here, so I got first pick. I passed the master bedroom, peeking in quickly as I went by, admiring the king sized bed and earthy colored walls.

I finally found a room that was perfect for me. There was a queen sized bed, window nook, dresser, bookshelf, and a walk-in closet, and I absolutely loved the pale green walls. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought that it was designed just for me. I flopped down on the bed and let out a happy sigh.

I heard a shout. I sat up and listened carefully. Another came to my ears, followed by more. I smiled at the shouts of joy. The others must have finally made it. I left my suitcase by the bed and headed out to meet them.

* * *

I placed a last pillow on my new bed and turned to admire the room yet again. I had spent hours unpacking, but now the room looked like it was really mine. The bookshelf was almost full, and the dresser was decorated by my many little trinkets. One of the walls had been chosen to hold my photos, and now was almost halfway covered, the pictures taped to its surface.

I sat down on the window seat and pulled out my laptop. I plugged the electronic in and started it up. I went online and checked my emails. I sent replies to a couple of my friends, and uploaded some pictures onto my computer from my camera, planning on getting a few of them printed out for my wall. I let out another happy sigh. Things were going to be different here, I could tell.

I heard the clack of claws against wood. I looked up to see my dog sniffing around my room. I called him over and patted his head. He had hated being stuck in his crate for so long. The poor darling got carsick easily. I rubbed his head again. He collapsed onto the floor next to me, and soon started twitching while he dreamed. I smiled at the dog. I wasn't quite sure what breed he was, probably a mix of just about everything, although I was pretty sure he was part Dalmatian. Someone had been just giving him away in the parking lot of a grocery store.

I went back to my typing, absently petting the canine every now and then. I started looking at the New York news, and such, scoffing when I saw talk of an alien invasion. People here must not be all that bright.

I finally shut the laptop when Mom called me for dinner. I walked down the hallway, dodging things my siblings had left lying around. The table was laid out with Subway sandwiches. I grabbed a turkey sandwich and sat down in between one of my brothers and my mom. We discussed what we would do first after the house was organized. My brother, Alex, wanted to go visit central park, my mom was content to just sit at home, although she did kind of want to see the statue of liberty, and I just wanted to walk around in the entire city and take it all in. We decided to finish moving in first, and then start planning all that.

After dinner I said my goodnights and headed back to my room. When I got there I noticed Eli, my dog, was gone, he had probably gone off to sleep on someone else's bed, someone who didn't toss and turn in their sleep. I shut the door and changed into my pajamas, a tank top and shorts, then headed to bed, where happy dreams filled my head.

* * *

**So... What'd you think? I'd love to know.**


	2. Ninjas?

**Hello again. Here's the next chapter. I won't waste anymore of your time. Read on!**

* * *

I awoke to the annoying sound of my alarm. I groaned and turned it off, then tumbled out of bed. It was eight o'clock, the latest I could sleep in and not miss breakfast. I stumbled out the door, stopping to get my youngest sister, Becky, out of bed on my way. I sat down in an empty chair and grabbed a piece of toast.

This was my now usual routine. We had been in New York for a little more than a week now. I had spent most of that time helping to clean up, or with my dad, sorting through financial bills or talking on the phone with tenants.

Today we were finally going to explore the city. We were going to central park, walking, since we were just a few blocks away. The kids were full of energy after being cooped up for so long, and eager to get out of the house.

I went into the bathroom I shared with Becky to shower. I stepped out of the shower and pulled my robe on, then headed to my room. I pulled on a pair of Capri's and a blue t-shirt that made my also blue eyes pop, and slipped on my flip-flops on my way out of my room. I sat down on a stool at the counter, where my mom was making sandwiches for our trip. We chatted while I brushed my shoulder length black hair, mostly about our plans for our trip into the 'wild' city of Manhattan.

When everybody was finally ready, we gathered in the living room. Everyone was given a buddy, and I smiled at little Becky when she plopped down on my lap. She was the youngest, at the grand age of five, and I was the oldest, ten years older than Becky, everyone else was scattered in between.

I grabbed a backpack full of food, while Alex grabbed the other. We grinned at each other. He was only a year younger than me, and my best friend. We had been homeschooled our entire lives, and didn't know very many people, so I spent most of my time with him. I ruffled his shock of sandy blond hair. He took after my mom's side, while I looked more like my dad. "You ready for this, little brother?" I teased.

"Only if you are, Liz," he said with a grin, and slung an arm over my shoulders, leaning on me with his entire weight until I nearly collapsed. I pushed him away and stuck my tongue out.

"Come on, let's get the others."

* * *

I collapsed onto the picnic blanket with a smile. We'd been hanging out at the park for about an hour, and had just finished lunch. I had sent Becky off to go play with the others, so now I had some time to myself. I gave my mom a quick, "See you later," and plugged in my headphones, letting the heavy beat of the music fill my head. I walked along the sidewalk, nodding to the occasional passerby. I slipped into the trees and found a secluded clearing. I sat down under a tree and pulled out my sketchbook. I was probably out there for about half an hour before I got a text from my mom.

**"****Heading home now, come on."**

I packed up my sketchbook and pencils, placing them all carefully back in the backpack, snapped a quick picture, and headed back to my family.

* * *

I stared out at the city lights. It was around eleven and I couldn't sleep, so I had climbed up to the rooftop. I sat here now, wrapped in a blanket and sketching the city. A pigeon landed on the roof next to me. I flipped to a new page and began another sketch. I had just finished when I heard a noise. The pigeon flew off and I glanced at the surrounding rooftops.

I saw some shadowy figures on the rooftop next to me. I pulled out my camera and took a few pictures. I squealed when something landed next to me. No, wait, someone. I rushed over. "Are you okay?" All I got in response was a grunt. I frowned at the figure. They were dressed all in black and looked a little like pictures of ninjas I'd seen. The ninja shot up and jumped back into the fray, knocking me over in the process. I landed on the hard concrete with an "Oomph". I got slowly to my feet and crept closer, until I was leaning on the short wall on the edge of the roof. There seemed to be a lot of these ninjas, and they were all fighting… something. It was too dark to see. I took my camera out, turning the flash on, and leaned closer. The flash of light from the small electronic made the fight seem to freeze for a second. Then someone yelled, "She has a picture!"

I edged backwards towards the door that led back into the building. Someone leaped cross the gap between buildings and landed in front of me.

"Sorry little lady, but we can't let you keep that." The voice was rough and angry. I held my camera up and clicked the button. The flash blinded the person long enough for me to run back inside. I slammed the door and struggled to lock it. I finally accomplished the task, just before someone started banging on the door. I heard angry shouts on the other side of the slab of wood. I ran for the stairs, just wanting the safety of my own room. The shouts grew quieter the farther down I got, and by the time I reached the ground floor had completely disappeared.

I shut my door quietly, not wanting to wake my family, and sat down on my bed. I pulled the camera out and started scrolling through the pictures. At first there were just shadowy figures, but the ones with flash revealed a little more. The picture of the fight was blurry, but I could just make out something green, no, make that several somethings. I opened the last picture and gasped. On the screen of my small camera was a turtle. No, more than a turtle, it looked humanoid. It held weapons in its hands, they looked like big daggers. The thing had elbow and knee pads and a red mask tied over its eyes. There was a startled look on its face, probably caused by the flash of light.

I turned my laptop on, tapping the keyboard impatiently. When it finally turned on I plugged my camera in. I copied all the pictures onto the laptop, and then backed them up onto a thumb drive, out of habit. I turned the laptop off and slid it under my bed, putting the thumb drive under my pillow. My camera I set on my bedside table. I climbed under the covers and closed my eyes. If I had been paying attention I might have seen a pair of eyes outside my window, or maybe seen the flash of purple that crept into my room, or maybe even the glow of a laptop when files were deleted, or perhaps heard the squeak of my window being closed. But I didn't, I drifted off to sleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

* * *

**Sorry the chapters are so short, I'll try to work on that.**

**I brought the turtles in sooner than I was expecting to, guess I'm just impatient. :/**

**Anyway... R&R please. I love to hear what you guys think.**


	3. Searching

**Wow, two chapters in one day. I'm feeling pretty proud of myself. Enjoy!**

* * *

I stared at my laptop in confusion. I scrolled through the pictures I had uploaded last night one last time. I saw the pictures I had taken yesterday at the park, but the ones from last night were gone. I picked up my camera and scrolled through those too, but there was no sign of them. I frowned. I had almost thought it was a dream, but the bruise on my backside had discouraged that thought. I turned to the laptop again, they had to be here! Another futile search made me sigh in frustration. I face planted into my pillow. I sat up when I felt a lump. The thumb drive! I had forgotten about it. I pulled it out and plugged it into my laptop. I let out a quick, "Ha", and scrolled through the images. I plugged my phone into the laptop and started copying the pictures onto it.

A knock on the door interrupted my victory. "Lizzie, it's time for lunch."

"Coming, Mom." I said, closing my laptop and shoving my phone in my pocket. When I sat down at the table Alex shot me a look. I was distracted throughout the meal, thinking about what I had seen, and what was on my laptop. I was starting to think that maybe all of that talk about aliens wasn't so crazy after all. I finished my food and rinsed my plate, waving slightly to my mom as I headed back to my room. I had just sat down on my bed and pulled out my laptop when I heard a knock on my door. Alex opened the door, not caring if I answered or not.

"What's going on?"

I blinked at him. "I don't know what you're talking about."

He scoffed. "Yeah right, Liz. I know you, and I know something's up."

I sighed, "Fine. I saw something, last night. I was on the roof, because I couldn't sleep."

He nodded and waited for me to continue.

"There was some sort of fight going on, on the next door rooftop. I tried to get closer, but someone attacked me." I could see him stiffen, his brotherly instincts kicking in. "They didn't do anything," I assured him. "They didn't even touch me. They were after my camera, probably didn't want anyone to know who they were, or something." I didn't really want to tell him the whole story, even if he was my brother. He'd think I was crazy.

"Did you get any pictures?" He asked.

I shook my head. "I had one, but I couldn't see anything, so I deleted it." I handed him the camera. He scrolled through it quickly and nodded, handing it back.

"Don't mess with these guys, Liz. You'll only get yourself into trouble."

I nodded, and he left. I sighed and opened my laptop again. I hated lying to my brother, but there was no way I was going to just let this go.

* * *

I shivered and pulled my blanket closer around myself. I was on the roof again. Not because I couldn't sleep, but because I was curious. I wanted to know who, and what, those guys were. I knew there was more than one of them, the pictures proved that, and the one who had attacked me had said "we", not "I". I shivered again. I didn't even know if they would come here again, but I didn't know what else to do.

I had started researching them. At first I had looked at the alien invasion story, but those aliens supposedly looked like brains, so I had tried searching them directly. There weren't many reports of turtle-men in New York, but I had found a few things. One person said he delivered pizza to some weirdo, at least once a week, in some alley. The guy said that once the dude's hat had fallen off and he had seen green. It wasn't much to go on, but it was something. Now I knew (well, thought) that they liked pizza. True, it could have just been some guy with green hair, but eh, I'll take what I can get. There had been a few other things about them. One guy said his little girl thought that one had broken into her room. Another said that one had tried to kidnap his cat. I read anything and everything.

I sighed and pulled out my sketch book. I sketched a quick picture of the turtle I had seen with my pencil, comparing it to the image on my phone, writing "I know you're out there" on the other side of the paper. I ripped the page out of my book and folded it up. I left the paper on the edge, not quite sure of what I was doing. I headed inside and down the stairs, my thoughts in chaos.

* * *

I tapped my foot impatiently. I had ordered a pizza and was waiting for it to get here. I yawned. These late nights weren't good for me, and my parents were starting to notice. I planned to just leave the pizza on the roof with a note. I was getting a little desperate. School started next week, so I wouldn't have as much time to myself, which meant fewer stakeouts. I finally saw the pizza guy's scooter round the corner. He pulled up to the building and walked over to me, a pizza box in his hands. I paid the guy and waved politely as he drove off. I ran into the building and up the stairs, pausing only to open the door to the roof. I opened the box and set the note I had prepared inside, on top of the pizza. I set the pizza box on the ground, glanced at it once more, and headed to bed.

* * *

**As always, R&R! Let me know what you guys think.**


	4. Turtle Pond

I yawned again and lethargically poked at my eggs and bacon.

"You need to get to bed earlier, Lizzie." I looked up at my mom. "I'll take that laptop away if I have to," she insisted.

"Okay, Mom, whatever you say."

I'm serious, Liz. School starts in a couple days, and I don't want you sleeping through all your classes."

"Alright, Mom, I'll go to bed early tonight."

I hurried to finish my food before my mom could lecture me anymore. I headed to my room, where my laptop lay open upon the bed, awaiting my return. I got dressed quickly. I was heading to the park with Alex today. I felt I needed to get out of the house, and get my mind off the subject of turtles. I had just finished brushing my hair and was putting it into a ponytail when Alex came in, all ready to leave. I grabbed my art bag and followed him to the living room where he grabbed a backpack of food and whatever he thought was necessary at the park. I gave my mom a quick hug and followed Alex out the door, walking quickly to keep up with his long strides.

We made it to the park without incident and I immediately headed to my favorite spot. We sat in the clearing, Alex with a comic book he had brought, and I with my sketchbook. I absently sketched trees and clouds. Then I started sketching Alex. After that I just doodled. My hand froze when I realized I was drawing turtles, turtles with weapons and red masks. I shook my head to clear it and closed my sketchbook. I packed my stuff away and stood. I kicked Alex lightly and started walking along the pathway. I stopped when I reached a pond. I sat on a bench and stared across the water.

Alex sat next to me. "Awww, look at the little turtle." I stared at the small creature that had crawled partway out of the water. Are you serious? I laughed quietly and pulled out my camera. We sat for a few more minutes before getting up to find somewhere to eat our lunch. We found a picnic table and sat down. I pulled out our food, tossing Alex his. We ate in silence, and my mind began to wander. I had gone up to the roof to see what had happened to the pizza a few days ago. It had been gone, along with the note. I wasn't sure if _they_ had taken it, but I didn't know of anyone else who climbed onto the roof in the middle of the night. I sighed. This was getting ridiculous. I was leaving notes on a roof for turtle people I wasn't even sure existed, I mean, I was pretty sure they did, but I had no solid proof. It could have just been really good costumes for all I knew. I didn't really believe that though.

I looked up when Alex called my name again. "Liz?"

"Huh?"

"We need to head back. It looks like it's gonna rain."

I nodded. "Okay."

I packed up my barely eaten lunch and followed Alex back home.

* * *

**Sorry for the short chapter. I just didn't really flow with the last one, or the one after this.**

**R&R (Read & Review) please. Your reviews inspire me and encourage me to keep writing.**

**Until next time.**


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